Lifestyle
The entrepreneurial life can be both exciting and taxing. Our writers share tips on how to make your life balanced and rewarding.

Give Your Employees Benefits at ZERO Cost to You!
As an entrepreneur, you care deeply about the well-being of your business — that means caring deeply about the well-being of your employees. Are they happy in their jobs? Why are they succeeding so well at certain tasks? Are they interested in training to excel...

Why Meal Substitutes – Even Healthy Ones – Don’t Always Work
Will drinking a protein shake for breakfast instead of eating something more substantial, like pancakes and eggs, help you lose weight? The Sonoma Diet, and others like it, has been increasingly trendy and asks dieters to replace meals with a shake, whether by a...

Don’t Be a Victim to Scam Calls — Here’s How to Fight Back
Last December, the New Delhi police busted two call centers that employed over 50 people. They scammed nearly 8,000 Americans, making them pay over $24 million in three years. How is it possible that these scammers have stolen so much money? It isn’t always that the...

Why Small-Business Owners Love Costco
Small business owners are an extremely diverse group of people, but we can all get behind one unifying factor (besides AFEUSA, of course): Costco! Small business owners are an extremely diverse group of people, but we can all get behind one unifying factor (besides...

One Huge Challenge That Remains for America’s Deaf Community
The American deaf community still faces many challenges, but we wanted to highlight one important issue today. Although deaf Americans need audiologist health care coverage to thrive in our hearing world, many of them don’t have it. The American deaf community still...

3 Safety Tips for ‘Quarantining’ While Traveling
If you’re starting to travel again in 2021, you might still be a little bit worried about it — if not because of the health consequences, then because of the travel regulations that differ state-to-state. Here are a few tips for staying safe while on the road or in...

Did You Know? Healthy Teeth Can Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
Can bacteria in our mouth cause long-term health problems? Research says yes. Over the past few decades, experts worldwide have revealed just how integral the mouth-body connection is to our health. Especially for diabetic, pregnant, and overweight patients, troubled...

The Best Ways to Rapidly Expand Your Home Menu
If you’re looking for fast, easy ways to upgrade your homemade dishes, you’ve found the right article. We’re here to provide some ideas to help you upgrade your cooking skills. Whether you want to impress, eat healthier, or sharpen a technique you use every day,...

Is Your Teen Ready for a Car?
This holiday season, you may be considering handing your teenager the keys to your car. But are they ready? How will you know? While we parents have no official checklist to determine their preparation, your teenager can show key qualities to prove they’re ready....

Best Holiday Food Gifts to Send Your Senior Loved Ones
2020 has been a really tough year for everyone living in senior homes. You might’ve done everything you can to pamper your elderly family member isolated in their care center, but as winter holidays arrive, they’re going to miss spending time with you even more than...

This Is Why Couples Fight About Money
Money is a tricky subject. Even close families avoid talking about it because it can be a very sensitive and divisive topic — but, as a couple, you can’t escape conversations about finances as it’s interwoven with your life together. So, where do the problems come...

Heart Disease Is the Top Cause of Death in Women — Do You Know the Warning Signs?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 out of 5 female deaths is linked to heart disease — and a national survey published in Circulation (a journal published for the American Heart Association) suggests that many women are unaware of...

3 Tips to Upgrade Your Family Road Trip
Does your family consider road trips to be a little ordinary? If you feel like the excitement levels aren’t where they should be this holiday season, then we have a few tips to upgrade the experience and have a blast on your next road trip. First, buy a great cooler...

How Safe Is It to Fly, Really?
Although you might be hoping to travel out of state this holiday season, you may also be wondering: Is it honestly safe to fly? How do you gauge the risks you’re taking? The good news is that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),...

3 Tips to Work Around the USPS Slowdown This Holiday Season
Your business might already be feeling the effects of the USPS slowdown, but have you prepared for how it could possibly affect you this holiday season? Here are a few strategies to consider implementing. Drive your mail to the largest local distribution center.Taking...

Remember: Pre-purchase Car Inspections Are Still Necessary During the Pandemic
Ever since COVID-19 came on the scene, everything about our daily lives seems a little harder. And it’s not necessarily that picking up food or shopping at the grocery store has gotten more difficult (those might’ve gotten easier, in fact) — it’s simply feeling the...

Stressed Out? What You Need to Know About Taking Anxiety Medication
Experts are saying that depression is the next pandemic after COVID-19. Unfortunately, that’s hardly surprising: People have been more isolated than ever before, the economy has suffered in ways we’ve never seen, and the political climate has been tremendously...

How to Celebrate the Holidays With Our Elderly From Afar
It’s going to be tough to celebrate the holidays with our older family members this year, especially if they’re locked down in their local caretaking homes. We have no fast answers to when it’ll be safe — it might be already decently safe in your area by the time...

Need a Boost? Supercharge Your Energy and Memory With These Foods
It’s easy to get off track with a diet. When stress starts building up, many people would rather pick up a burger than make a salad at home. Although we might lose focus once in a while, we can choose delicious comfort foods that actually help us focus because they...

The Medical Truth Most Entrepreneurs Don’t Know About Dental Care
Plenty of myths attempt to explain success, but one is tried and true: There’s a direct correlation between health and success. In one University of Georgia study, researchers talked to 1,300 executives (who earned $100,000 or more annually), and 75% of them agreed...

Bust the Metabolism Myths: 3 Simple Steps to Burn More Calories at Work or Home
Your body is a big part of your ability to focus and live your best life, so it’s no surprise that many business owners want to stay on top of their weight goals. Unfortunately, the convenience of certain products, like supplements that promise to improve your...

How Do We Handle the Prolonged Stress of the Pandemic at Home?
Remember when we thought this pandemic would be over in a few months? I do, and it feels like it must’ve been years ago. While every area is recovering at different rates, our divided nation can probably agree on one thing: We’re all tired of this pandemic. We miss...

Taking a Road Trip? Here Are 2 Questions to Ask Yourself to Be Prepared
The most exciting part of road trips is the adventure — and every adventure needs the right preparation to go smoothly. When you’re prepared, even the most spontaneous moments are more enjoyable because you don’t need to worry about the worst possible outcomes. So,...

Give Yourself a Break: Dreaming of Your 2021 Vacation Isn’t Such a Bad Idea
You might get some questions and a cautious look if you start talking about planning your vacation in 2021: “Where would you go?” “What if they don’t relieve the travel ban then?” “Why are you thinking about traveling right now?” Leisure travel might not sound like a...

3 Hacks for Eating Well Consistently
Eating one good, healthy meal can feel like a massive victory — but doing it consistently, especially as business owners, can be a huge challenge. At the same time, during a pandemic, it’s never been more important to do so. Your immune system needs plenty of...

Excited to Get Back to School? Get Your Kids Back to the Dentist First
Preparing your kids for back-to-school season might mean getting them out of bed, especially kids who are learning remotely for Fall 2020. However, it’s also a perfect time to visit the dentist for a routine cleaning because healthy teeth might just improve their...

Car vs. Plane
While travel has been discouraged during the COVID-19 outbreak, as we start seeing recovery across the country, business travel is becoming more common again. The question is this: Should we travel by car or plane? It’s really about weighing your risks. Until a...

Moving Back to the Office?
No matter what stage of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery your state and business may be in, you may be thinking ahead to what your day at the office will look like. Besides being safe, it should also feel cozy and organized! We need a clean and relaxing space to work...

Turn Your Phone Into Your Fitness Tracker
Right now, keeping up with our health is imperative to our success as business leaders. If our health isn’t optimal, it can cloud our judgment and impair our energy levels, restricting our productivity. You’ll see countless apps claiming to be the best for monitoring...

Fun Nutrition-Rich Meals for the Family
During this time, it can get old ordering through Uber Eats every week to ensure your family gets tasty nutritional meals. Instead, try making a fun and healthy dinner for your loved ones in your own kitchen. Here is a quick review of some of the fantastic meals Home...

Relationship Tips and Tricks
Being in a relationship is a beautiful thing, and naturally, you want to share your entire life with your significant other. However, if you and your partner are also in a business relationship, make sure you're balancing both sides. With these tricks, you’ll both be...

Homebound Ways to Spend Time With Family
If you’ve been self-quarantining, I’m sure you’ve cleaned every facet of your house, and you’ve tackled all the errands you can. But this May, there are several holidays coming up that can help you make the most out of your stay-cation. “Star Wars” Day May 4 is an...

Unknown Causes of Cavities
Right now, the last thing on your mind is your oral hygiene. Sure, we all floss, brush twice a day, and use mouthwash, but that only does so much. If something does come up, like a cavity, it's one more thing on your plate that you have to handle. What's worse, is...

Signs You Need a Hearing Aid
Do your family members have to repeat things to you constantly? Do you have to listen carefully to podcasts that you could hear easily weeks ago? If so, you're not alone. Over 450 million people suffer from some form of hearing loss. But determining that you have...

Manage Your Relationships During Quarantining
Right now, working remotely is more common than ever, and if you and your loved ones are suddenly sharing a workspace, tensions can arise. No matter how good-natured our loved ones are, small talk, various household questions, and even general disagreements can take a...

How to Keep Burning Calories During Quarantine
If you’re homebound and working remotely, it can be stressful trying to manage your new routine. If you have kids, you have to keep track of their schooling. If you have a significant other working from home as well, you have to manage the appropriate times to...

How Safe is Takeout Food During the COVID-19 Outbreak?
Even as restaurants dial back to take-out only operations across the country, some people may still find themselves wondering how safe is takeout, really? The good news is that, according to “Forbes,” experts conclude that the risk of contracting COVID-19 by ordering...

Three Ways to Stay Fit at Home
As gyms shut down around the nation, many Americans are finding it difficult to maintain their health and sanity while still doing their part to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Here are a few ways to maintain your healthy lifestyle from home. Bodyweight Exercises...

The Superfoods That Will Boost Your Immune System
In the rush of the workday, it’s so easy to get fast food to settle your cravings. However, these options can lack the essential nutrients you need, or worse, leave you feeling sluggish and kill your productivity. To scale your business in the current landscape, you...

The Benefits of Making Giving Part of Your Business Model
If you’re a business owner, getting involved with a non profit organization this summer can offer more than just the good feelings associated with giving back. According to Cone Communications, 85% of customers have a more favorable view of businesses that give back...

Three Apps Every Entrepreneur Needs to Take Control of Their Schedule
Todoist Todoist links with apps like Dropbox, Alexa, and Google Calendar to create a centralized hub for task management. With Todoist, you can quickly create tasks for a digital to-do list, set notifications, categorize tasks, and assign tasks. RescueTime RescueTime...

Managing Self-Employment Taxes for Small Business Owners
If you’re an employee, your employer takes out contributions for programs like Social Security and Medicare from your paycheck each month. For employees, these contributions are called FICA taxes, and everybody has to make them under one name or another. If you’re a...

2020’s Three Most Romantic Travel Destinations
Do you have a spouse or partner who has nurtured and supported you along your path to owning and running your business? February is the month of love, so why not make time to thank them for all their support with a romantic trip for two? Here are three of the most...

The Best Inexpensive Relaxation Apps in 2020
If the new year has been stressful so far, you may be worried about your long-term well-being. How do you make progress in daily life when you’re always juggling responsibilities? Thankfully, rest and meditation can help you relax your mind, and there are many modern...

3 Ways To Keep Your Culture Through a Growth Period
Culture is the glue that holds a business together. But as a business grows, it may struggle to maintain its culture. Here are three considerations to keep in mind as you strengthen and develop your systems. Hire Smart It’s difficult to overstress the importance of...

Three Best Domestic Travel Destinations for 2020
Whether you’re a nature lover, an adrenaline junky, or a sports fan, 2020 offers excellent opportunities for travel. Here are our top three picks for 2020 travel: Lake Powell and Antelope Canyon Looking for an outdoor escape? Check out the scenery In Lake Powell, Utah...

Making Resolutions That Stick
January 2020 isn’t just any old New Year’s. It marks the end of a decade, which means this is like a super fresh start on the next ten years of your life. With that in mind, here’s a few hot tips to keep you on track: Dream Big, Break Your Big Goal Into Smaller Goals...

Tips For Holiday Travel in 2020
Let’s face it: Traveling around the holidays can be rough. Prices go up and routes get crowded. To add to this, the holidays fall smack dab in the middle of winter, when weather delays abound. Between large numbers of travelers and weather induced delays, holiday...

Staying Healthy During the Holidays (Office Edition)
We’ve all been there; it’s late, you’re drained, and those holiday cookies are just the sugar rush you need to finish a task. But later, when the sugar crash hits, you will feel sluggish and irritable. As an entrepreneur, it’s hard to avoid the holiday health...

Stress Management In The Business World
Stress drives us to success at times, but it can also eat away at us and our loved ones. A recent study by The Korn Ferry Institute found that 76% of participating business professionals report that stress hurts their personal relationships. You can’t avoid workplace...

Superfoods to Boost Your Productivity
With the hustle of the workday, it’s easy to miss meals or settle for a quick burger and fries in your rush. Either option can leave you sluggish and drain away what little energy you still had towards the end of the day. It’s understandable why you might not want to...

Business During Flu Season
During the holiday season, you’re bound to get sick one way or another. But prolonged illness can be detrimental to your business’s productivity. Here are two simple ways to maintain your company’s progress while you get better. Communication With Your Employees...

The Underlying Effects of Vacations
In business, it’s easy to get consumed with the daily needs of our company and neglect our well-being. This is amplified during the holidays, as we try to get everything our loved ones want and maximize our holiday marketing strategies. A great way to avoid holiday...

What To Include In A Benefits Package?
As you scale your business, you’ll need the right team by your side. We've talked a lot about employee acquisition, but one key component in finding quality employees is offering good employee benefits. When considering what benefits to include in your staff's...

How To Save Money and The Planet
Nowadays, most consumers are environmentally conscious; in-fact recent reports have shown the over one-third of consumers will pay 25% more for sustainable products. What makes these trends in consumer behavior even more impressive is the demand Gen Z is showing for...

How To Avoid The Headaches of Business Travel
Business Conventions can be very beneficial for your company, but one wrong step can make a trip end up costing more than it’s worth. Here are some of the best ways to avoid business trip headaches. Prepare For the Worst It may sound easy and straightforward, but...

Business Proof Your Vacation
If you've spent money on a vacation, the last thing you want to do is spend your time on business calls while you should be relaxing. Many small business owners debate whether to try to put their business on hold or to take it with them. Here are some tips to make...

Car Shopping Headaches
Unless you’re a car enthusiast, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of free time car shopping, especially as a business owner. As the saying goes, “time is money,” and for entrepreneurs that truly is the case. If you’re not trying to relax, you’re working towards...

Drive Productivity With Company Picnics
Are you tired of watching employees stare longingly out at the amazing weather this summer season? The distraction of the outdoors can diminish productivity. For a small business or a budding start-up, every dollar counts. Hosting a company picnic is a perfect...

Simple Meal Planning Solutions
One of the biggest unintended side effects of running your own small business is the effect it can have on your personal life — not to mention your downtime. Whether you miss quality time with your family or important outings with friends, sacrifices need to be made...

In Search of the Four-Day Work Week
We’ve been hearing about it for years now, but it’s time to finally take a serious look at how a four-day workweek could impact your life. Besides the obvious bonus of an extended weekend, there could be some unintended side effects. For one, the days you do work...

Creating a Healthy Business Routine
We know how easy it is to get stuck in your daily routine, especially if you are a business owner. Entrepreneurs must be aware of many things, so having a schedule may grant you the ability to address whatever you have to do with ease. But you can also lose out on a...

The Unglamorous Entrepreneurial Lifestyle
Despite what Hollywood adaptations may lead you to believe, the life of the working entrepreneur is rarely glamorous. The real-world life of an aspiring entrepreneur isn’t all it’s been rumored to be. For every social media celebrity sporting an Armani suit...

The Life of a Lifestyle Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship comes in all shapes and sizes, and here at AFEUSA, we might know that better than anyone. If you have a driving passion in a given field, there’s nothing stopping you from turning it into a career. That’s happens to be the main idea behind the concept...

Work Hard and Achieve Your Goals
Did you know that only 8 percent of people are able to achieve their goals? That is because most people don't know how to properly organize their time and tasks to complete everything they must do to get themselves to where they want to be. The year is already well...

Juggling Life at Work and Home
There’s no such thing as a perfect life, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for what our perfect life looks like in the real world. You’re going to get sidetracked. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be. Even if you make a concrete hierarchy of what...

Why Everyone Should Experience Rejection
Everyone dreams of having a perfect rejection-free life. We want things to work out exactly the way we originally planned and live a life of success after success. Unfortunately, that’s never how life works out. Rather than a steady, forward motion, life is more like...

Bridging the Gap Between Family and Work
The work-life balance is a delicate thing. It can sometimes feel like putting more effort into one takes away from the other, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If we took as much time to plan as we did to worry, we wouldn’t have anything to worry about in the first...

Bad Business Habits to Stop NOW
Every true entrepreneur wants his or her business to succeed, but unfortunately, a huge percentage of business owners fail within the first two years. Now that we’re into 2019, it’s important to know how to keep your business thriving for yet another year. You could...

What Skills Determine a Leader
I’ve met several people who have struggled to run businesses and even had to close their businesses because they lacked quality leadership skills. Maybe they don’t work as well with others as they thought or simply don’t fully understand what it means to be a leader....

Maintaining Your Business Resolutions Throughout The Year
Let’s be real here: how often do we promise to commit to our new year’s resolutions, only to forget about it by February? Just the other day, I was getting ahead on some of my spring cleaning and I found a list I had made to ensure I stuck to my 2018 resolutions. It...

This Is Not Your Daddy’s Company Anymore
Years ago, building a company meant buying a storefront on a corner in your neighborhood. Your loved ones spread the word and loyal friends and family members kept you in business. You had to be physically close to your customers to provide products and services for...

Improving Your Thanksgiving Conversation
If you’re like me, Thanksgiving can kind of be a gamble when it comes to table conversation. Some years, the family can keep things light and fun and we end the holiday with big smiles and full bellies. Other times, someone makes the mistake of bringing up politics or...

Evaluating Your 2018 Resolutions
2018 is coming to an end more quickly than we realize. Do you remember what resolutions you made almost a year ago? How long were you able to keep them up? I made it until about April before they went out the window. It wasn’t until a few days ago when I thought about...

Why Giving Thanks Makes You Healthier
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Not just because my grandma makes the best cranberry sauce, but because of the traditions my family set focusing on gratitude. We went around in circles sharing things we were grateful for, watched old family videos...

6 Ways To Learn From Failure
They say “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I’m not sure who “they” are, but they make the risk of failure seem way more simple than it really is. It can be a devastating blow to you and your organization. When you invest your heart and soul into your...

4 Ways To Realize Your Potential
All right, we’ve talked about imposter syndrome. We’ve talked about learning to handle rejection and facing all sorts of fears you might face as you start up your business. But beneath all that, you might still have your doubts. So when you have these...

4 Ways To Boost Productivity
Do you ever wake up, think about everything that you need to get done for the day, and just groan? Those early Monday mornings can hit hard. Contrary to popular belief, doing what you love doesn’t actually mean you never have to actually work. Running a...

Getting Family Involved In Your Business
Entrepreneurship can be a tricky business (pun intended), especially when you’re trying to balance work and your family life. Many entrepreneurs lean on their families as a lifeline - family members fill positions in the company and even provide short-term...

3 Ways To Create Work-Life Balance For Entrepreneurs
A friend of mine recently shared a post on social media that read “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your li...work super hard all the time with no separation or any boundaries and also take everything extremely personally.” It hit me...

Retirement Planning When Self Employed
One of the most daunting tasks as an entrepreneur is saving up for your retirement. Sometimes it feels as though every penny you earn for yourself goes right back toward pursuing your passion. Planning retirement can be tedious, so it’s no wonder many...

Dealing With Imposter Syndrome
Have you ever heard of Imposter Syndrome? It’s a regular phenomenon people experience when they don’t feel like they’re good enough to be doing what they’re doing. Maybe you once received a promotion at work you didn’t feel you were qualified for, or you...

How A Business Degree Can Boost Your Business
In my last article, I talked about why you don’t necessarily need a business degree to run your own business. And while I still stand by that, I also want to talk about why having that degree can be helpful for you. I mentioned it in the last article — a...

Do You Need A Business Degree To Run A Business?
“What if you just started your own organization?” I laughed when my friend mentioned this idea. I graduated in communication with an emphasis in journalism. I took several management classes, but other than that I knew nothing about running a...

How To Pay Off Student Loans When You’re Self Employed
The day I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree was not as bright and celebratory as I always imagined it would be. As friends and family members around me celebrated, I couldn’t help but think about the dark cloud ahead of me: student loans. It had loomed...

How To Balance School And Entrepreneurship
When my friend suggested I take MBA classes while establishing my own startup, I thought he was crazy. Completing just one of those tasks is daunting enough on its own. I worked just enough to get myself through my undergraduate, but being an entrepreneur...

Bloggers Burnout – Four Fast Tips
Picture this: You’ve had your blog for a few months now. You were so excited to get started on it and you had about a billion ideas for what you want to do and where you want to go with it. You spent hours and hours designing the layout of the blog - making it look...

5 Online Learning Sources to Boost Your Business Acumen
The internet's free exchange of ideas makes it easier than ever to learn about real-world issues that affect your company. There’s never been a better time to be in business. As the world has grown increasingly interconnected, the internet has become a veritable...

How to Get Involved Locally with SCORE
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) SCORE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides free business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the United States. The organization also presents business workshops and seminars for a fee. Business mentoring...

7 Signs That You’re an Emotionally Intelligent Person
Emotional intelligence is an underrated quality for entrepreneurs, and a crucial one for employees. Simply put, it’s your ability to recognize and control your emotions, and to recognize and understand the emotions of others. But, why is this quality...